Haleakala National Park, HI: Pipiwai Trail

Arguably one of the best hiking trails on Maui, the Pipiwai Trail is often overlooked by hikers who make a beeline for Wai'anapanapa State Park or Ohe'o Gulch ("Seven Sacred Pools"). Add this 3.6-mile trail to your to-do list for a picturesque ramble to a 400-foot waterfall. The trail starts at the north end of the visitor center parking area near the halau (long house) and climbs steadily up the ridge alongside Palikea Stream. The first viewpoint opens up beside an old concrete pylon, once used by farmers for getting sugar cane across the gorge. Less than a quarter mile later, a rock-walled overlook offers sweeping views across the gorge and of Makahiku Falls. From the overlook, the trail dives back into forest, then passes a now-closed spur trail. (Some guidebooks show this spur leading to a pool at the top of Makahiku Falls, but the NPS has since closed off this route due to several fatalities.) After 0.6 mile, the trail passes beneath the sprawling branches of an sprawling banyan tree, then shortly beyond, a spur trail breaks off to the right and descends to a viewpoint over a waterfall spilling into the "Pool of No Return," a large, deep pool that sits in a collapsed lava tube. Back on the main trail, pass the remains of an old sugar mill dam, then cross two bridges over a series of deep chutes and pools, carved into the riverbed's lava rock where the Palikea and Pipiwai Streams converge. At mile 1.1, trek through a dense stand of 40-foot-tall bamboo trees that block out much of the sunlight, (and create a clacking sound in the breeze), then cross the creek for the final 0.1-mile stretch to Waimoku Falls, a 400-foot waterfall that drops down mossy cliffs (watch for falling rocks). Drop your pack and soak up the scene before backtracking to the trailhead. -Mapped by Eli Boschetto, Bosco Mountain Photo

With low altitude yet big relief, this route in Glacier National Park’s little-visited northeast corner is perfect in early season. Hike this 22.9-mile lollipop loop in the Belly River Valley and cut through beargrass-filled meadows past misty waterfalls to a campsite overlooking Elizabeth Lake.